Artillery Officer Candidate School

Artillery Officer Candidate School

1941-1973

Army Officer Corps Roots of Army OCS Army and Artillery OCS History The Artillery OCS Hall of Fame Roots of the Artillery Branches

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Contents

The Artillery OCS Alumni Chapter Roots and History of the Army's Officer Candidate Schools

Leadership: General George C. Marshall - July 1941 Artillery OCS at Fort Sill 1941-1973 LTG Carl H. Jark School Commandants Graduates by Year Artillery OCS Hall of Fame

Artillery OCS Hall of Heroes ? MOH and DSC Distinguished Graduates

OCS Today at Fort Benning FA and ADA BOLC-B at Fort Sill Roots of the Field Artillery and Air Defense Artillery (Coast Artillery - Seacoast Artillery - Antiaircraft Artillery)

History of Fort Sill Fort Sill National Historic Landmark and Museum

US Army Air Defense Museum US Army Artillery Museum

Field Artillery School History Air Defense Artillery School Air Defense Artillery History

Soldier Saint Barbara Molly Pitcher Fiddler's Green

Revised 10/21/2021

Artillery Officer Candidate School Alumni Chapter, Incorporated

The Artillery OCS Alumni Chapter is a 501c3 non-profit organization incorporated in 2002.

Recognized as the Over All Best Chapter in the U.S. Field Artillery Association's Chapters of Excellence Program for 2014.

The purposes and aims of the Artillery OCS Alumni Chapter are to:

a. Preserve and maintain the archives, historical records, memorabilia and artifacts of the Fort Sill Artillery Officer Candidate School.

b. Conduct research and document the history and development of officers commissioned through the OCS program.

c. Conduct research and document the heroism and military service of graduates of the OCS program during all military conflicts from 1941 to the present.

d. Collect, preserve, interpret, and display OCS related items of historic significance for use in education programs for active duty, retired military, veterans and the general public.

e. Plan and coordinate educational programs designed specifically for the general public.

f. Promote interest and pride in the history of the OCS program and the graduates and staff who participated in events of historical significance.

g. Work toward a permanent location for the Artillery OCS Hall of Fame dedicated to preserving the heritage of the OCS program at Fort Sill and telling the story of one of the most significant military programs in the history of our Nation and the US Army.

h. Preserve and maintain the last remaining World War II - era wooden barracks (Building 3025) at Fort Sill, Oklahoma for as long as it remains workable and affordable.

Chapter operations are conducted exclusively by volunteers. There is no paid staff.

The Alumni Chapter assumed responsibility for the operation and maintenance of Building 3025 in February 2005 and occupied the building under a lease (later a license) from the Secretary of the Army to conduct organization business and maintain the Artillery OCS Hall of Fame. The arrangement ended by mutual agreement on October 15, 2021 and the keys were turned over to the Fort Sill Directorate of Public Works. Building 3025 is the only WWII era wooden barracks structure on Fort Sill.

Building 3025 was the home of the Fort Sill Artillery Officer Candidate School Hall of Fame from August 13, 1984 to October 15, 2021. The building was named "Durham Hall' on May 20,1999 in memory of 2LT Harold B. "Pinky" Durham, Jr., OCS Class 1-67, a Vietnam Medal of Honor recipient (posthumous).

The area occupied by the Officer Candidate School was named "Robinson Barracks" on 15 April 1953 in memory of 1LT James E. Robinson, OCS Class 61-43 a World War II Medal of Honor recipient (posthumous). The Robinson Barracks Archway stands at the north entrance of the area, near the corner of Austin and Jones Road west of Building 3025.

A four-day reunion of graduates was held each year at Fort Sill from 1985 through 2019.

The 2020 and 2021 reunions were cancelled due to the COVID-19 virus concerns.

The status of the next reunion is currently uncertain.

1/78 FA is the host unit for the annual reunion activities and works in conjunction with the Alumni Chapter on a year around basis to plan and coordinate the event.

Current Directors of the Chapter:

Mr. William Ford: President

COL (Ret) Harvey Glowaski: Vice-President

Mr. Randy Dunham: Secretary, Assistant to the Treasurer and Fort Sill POC

Mr. Mike Dooley: Treasurer and US Army Civilian Liaison/Representative to Fort Sill

Mr. Rich Cobin, Director

COL (Ret) Wayne Hunt, Director

LTC (Ret) David Kendall, Director

LTC (Ret) John Mennig, Director

Mr. Mendell Schelin, Director

Chapter Phone: 580-355-5275 Website: Email: admin@ Facebook: artilleryocsalumni/

Mailing Address: Artillery OCS Alumni Chapter Inc. PO Box 33612 Fort Sill, OK 73503-0612

The U. S. Army Officer Corps and the Roots of the Army Officer Candidate Schools

The modern U.S. Army has its roots in the Continental Army, which was formed on June 14, 1775, to fight the American Revolutionary War (1775?83), before the United States was established as a country.

After the Revolutionary War, the Congress of the Confederation created the United States Army June 3, 1784 to replace the disbanded Continental Army. The United States Army considers itself descended from the Continental Army and dates its inception from the origin of that armed force in 1775.

From 1775 to 1815 the United States was continuously involved in military conflicts with American Indians and various European countries. The United States was forced to rely on militia and volunteers, with no federal standards of training and competence. Officers below the rank of colonel were appointed by the states.

It was believed from the beginning that members of the officer corps must come from society, not a segment of it. Officers must be available and able to train and lead citizen soldiers in time of war and must not use their monopoly of knowledge to their own means.

The new country needed a school which would teach the mathematical and physical sciences and their applications to military problems, as well as to the problems of agriculture, industry and the means of internal communications. The result would be a national military academy.

United States Military Academy (USMA) was established at West Point in 1802. The Continental Army first occupied West Point, New York, on 27 January 1778, and it is the oldest continuously operating Army post in the United States. "Cadets" had been trained at West Point since 1794 and the USMA was established there by an act of Congress on March 16, 1802.

The college from which ROTC originated is Norwich University, founded in 1819 as the American Literary, Scientific and Military Academy. The university was founded by former West Point instructor, Captain Alden Partridge, who promoted the idea of a "citizen soldier"- a man trained to act in a military capacity when his nation required, but capable of fulfilling standard civilian functions in peacetime. This idea eventually led to the formation of Reservist and National Guard units with regimented training in place of local militia forces.

The Reserve Officers Training Corp (ROTC) was eventually established in 1916. The concept of ROTC in the United States began with the Morrill Act of 1862 which established the land-grant colleges. Part of the federal government's requirement for these schools was that they include military tactics as part of their curriculum, forming what became known as ROTC.

Officer Training Before and During World War I (1914-1918)

Military Training Camps for college students during 1913-1915 formed a connecting link between the antiquated system of military training at land grant colleges and the new Citizen's Military Training Camps (CMTC) and Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program established by the National Defense Act of 1916. World War I delayed implementation of the CMTC program until 1921 and ROTC was only able to commission 133 officers by 1920.

Plattsburgh Camps (1915-1917) were part of a volunteer pre-enlistment training program organized by private citizens before the U.S. entry into World War I. The camps were set up and funded by the Preparedness Movement, a group of influential pro-Allied Americans. They recognized that the standing U.S. Army was far too small to affect the war and would have to expand immensely if the U.S. went to war. The Preparedness Movement established the camps to train additional potential Army officers during the summers of 1915 and 1916. The largest and best-known camp was near Plattsburgh, New York. The participants were required to pay their own expenses. They provided the cadre of a wartime officer corps.

Graduates of the 1915-1916 camps gave the spark for the formation of the Military Training Camps Association (MTCA), with the core of its membership principally alumni of the Plattsburg training. MTCA turned the Plattsburg training camps planned for the summer of 1917 into what would be called Officer's Training Schools (OTS).

Officer Training Schools (OTS) - (1917-1918) Sixteen Officer Training Schools (OTS) were opened on May15 and closed on August 15, 1917. A second series of camps opened on August 27 and ended on November 17, 1917. A third series of camps opened on January 5, 1918 and ended on April 19, 1918. The fourth series opened on May 18, 1918 with most of them in Army and National Guard Division camps. Most of those candidates were absorbed into the newly created Central Officer Training Schools (COTS), while the rest completed their training and were commissioned overseas. Other small camps were established in Puerto Rico, the Philippines, Hawaii and Panama.

Officer Training Camps for African Americans: Provisional Officer Training Camp (OTC) and the Medical Officers Training Camp (MOTC) Colored - (1917-1918) Almost 1,400 volunteers arrived a Fort Des Moines, Iowa to be trained at the Army's first training camps for African American officers. Two groups trained there. The first trained line officers. It was called the 17th Provisional Officer Training Camp (OTC) and ran from June 18 to October 18, 1917. The candidates included 1,000 college graduates and 250 NCOs from the 9th and 10th Cavalry (Buffalo Soldiers) and the 24th and 25th Infantry. The course graduated 639 Captains and Lieutenants. The second was called the Medical Officers Training Camp (MOTC) - Colored and trained medical and dental officers, most of whom were physicians and dentists who had left their practices to join the war effort. 104 Medical Officers and twelve dental officers qualified and graduated from the MOTC.

Central Officer Training Schools (COTS) - (1918) Eight Central Officer Training Schools (COTS) were established - five for Infantry, one for Machine Gunners, one for Field Artillery and one for Cavalry.

Major General William J. Snow was harshly critical of the shortcomings of earlier versions of the officer training camps. He was named Chief of the Field Artillery in February 1918 and recommended the establishment of a Field Artillery Central Officer Training School at Camp Zachary Taylor, Kentucky. He helped make it one of the best.

Drills began at the Field Artillery Central Officer Training School (COTS) at Camp Zachary Taylor on June 24, 1918 and by November 20th it was the largest school of any kind in the world, with 14,469 candidates.

On November 11, 1918, the Secretary of War directed that no more candidates be admitted to any of the COTS. The candidates in attendance at the time had the option of taking an immediate discharge or finishing the course.

A total of 80,416 line officers were commissioned during and shortly after World War I. They constituted more than 60% of the total officer strength in the combat arms: Infantry: 48,968 Field Artillery: 20,291 Quartermaster Corps: 3,067 Coast Artillery; 2,063 Cavalry: 2,032 Engineer Corps: 1,966 Signal Corps: 1,262 Ordnance Corps: 767

After the war, the U.S. Army shrank from its wartime high of almost 2.5 million men to about 140,000 while its officer strength declined from 130,000 to 12,000. The closure of the Officer Training Schools left the Army with no source of rapidly trained officers until World War II threatened to engulf the United States.

Citizens' Military Training Camps (CMTC) - (1921-1940) CMTC were military training programs of the United States, held annually each summer during the years 1921 to 1940, the CMTC camps differed from National Guard and Reserves training in that the program allowed male citizens to obtain basic military training without an obligation to call-up for active duty. The CMTC were authorized by the National Defense Act of 1916 and were a continuation of the Plattsburg camps of 1915-16.

CMTC camps were formalized under the Military Training Camps Association (MTCA) The CMTC camps were a month in length and held at about 50 Army posts nationally. At their peak in 1928 and 1929, about 40,000 men received training, but the camps were a disappointment at their multiplicity of stated goals, but particularly in the commissioning of Reserve officers. The program established that participants could receive a reserve commission as a second lieutenant by completing four successive summer courses (titled Basic, White, Red, and Blue), but only 5,000 commissions were awarded over the 20-year history of the CMTC. It is estimated that 400,000 men had at least one summer of training.

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